Michael De Santa, formerly Michael Townley, is a character appearing as one of the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V, alongside Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips, and as a main character in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the A Safehouse in the Hills update. He is portrayed by Ned Luke.
Michael is a retired career criminal and bank robber living in Los Santos, San Andreas, with his family under new identities, after Michael made a secret deal with corrupt FIB agent Dave Norton, who helped him fake his death. Dissatisfied with his seemingly idyllic and halcyon lifestyle, and wishing to relive his 'glory days', Michael eventually returns to a life of crime, which brings unforeseen consequences as Michael is forced to confront past demons that come back to haunt him.
By the conclusion of Grand Theft Auto V's storyline, Michael is able to find new comfort in his life as a family man, and once again retires from his criminal career to become a movie producer. By 2025, during the events of Grand Theft Auto Online, he still retains this position, having established his own film production company, De Santa, which brought him much fame and success.
History[]
Background[]
Michael was born in either 1965 or 1968 in the Midwest. As a child, he did not have the luxuries and privileges that his own children have, and he grew up in the deprived environment of a trailer park with his parents.[5]
Like Trevor and Franklin, Michael had a tough upbringing due to his alcoholic and physically abusive father, who later abandoned him.[6] Michael's mother, who also abandoned him later, told him numerous versions of why his father left, which included, but were not limited to, him skipping town, being run over by a train and joining the navy.[7] Afterwards, he was left homeless until he became an adult.
In his high school years, Michael was an acclaimed quarterback for an all-state football team, even putting an amazing performance during his games and occasionally had his picture in the local newspaper. He wanted to go pro, but his temperament issues and constant injuries ultimately forced him to quit.[8]
As a young adult, Michael began a life of crime. According to himself, he was imprisoned twice by the time he was twenty.[9] While in prison, he learned many skills, including how to use a tattoo gun by tattooing his name on his cellmate's buttocks. He committed his first robbery sometime in 1988, where he managed to steal $10,000 from a small business on the outskirts of Carcer City. Despite his failures and shortcomings, Michael perfected his criminal skills to become an expert marksman and efficient heist leader. During this period, he associated himself with Lester Crest, an exquisite planner who would later assist Michael in arranging heists and other tasks.
Michael met Trevor Philips while escorting cargo across the Canadian border. While Trevor waited to meet his unknown employer, he noticed not one but two dust trails coming up the road, although he was told there would only be one person meeting him with the cargo. Michael exited the first vehicle while an older civilian exited the second. As it turned out, the more senior civilian had been carjacked by Michael. As Michael tried to make a hasty escape on foot, the older civilian attempted to get Trevor's attention on what had happened. Trevor approached the civilian and fired a flare gun into the man's eye, brutally killing him. He and Michael dumped the body into a lake afterward, which Trevor later described as horrible as the flare was still burning inside the man's skull. Trevor and Michael both threw up since the stench from the burning corpse remained.
After noticing how well they worked together, Michael brought an aimless Trevor under his wing as a partner for various crimes he would commit. They were both somewhat successful in their profession. Still, Michael claims they were always impecunious and constantly on the run from the law, as Trevor's rage issues would cause him to murder someone in broad daylight, while Michael's circumspection, foresight, and distinctive style of quoting from Solomon Richards' films drew attention, causing him and Trevor to quickly leave town after completing a job. The duo, along with Lester and a few other accomplices, committed robberies across the Midwest for a while.[10]
Sometime in the early 1990s, Michael, Trevor, and one of their associates went to a strip club where they met a stripper named Amanda. Though she initially took a liking to the third man, she eventually came onto Michael. After flirting with each other, the couple started a romantic relationship. Using money earned from illicit activities, Michael bought Amanda breast implants, which would help with her stripping and prostitution career. This led to Michael creating his own prostitution racket. After a few months of dating, Michael married Amanda and had two children, Tracey and Jimmy, and lived at a trailer park in the Midwest. Eventually, Trevor began to consider Michael "soft" as he started questioning his criminal lifestyle, fearing for his family. As a result, Michael began to dislike Trevor and his mentally unstable antics, feeling that he might one day hurt his wife and kids.
Later, Trevor met a fellow crook named Brad Snider and introduced him to Michael. Michael and Brad never showed empathy for each other and often expressed mutual distaste and distrust when working together. According to Trevor, Brad planned at one point to cut off Michael and work solely with Trevor, but Trevor refused out of loyalty to the man who gave his life purpose.
Michael's score in the Prologue.
At some point in 2004, Michael met corrupt FIB agent Dave Norton and made a clandestine agreement to cut ties with Trevor and Brad in exchange for the ability to disappear and start a new life. By paying Dave a monthly five-figure amount, he would relocate Michael and his family to Los Santos and provide them with new identities to start over. As part of their illegitimate deal, Michael informed Dave of their upcoming robbery at a cash storage facility in Ludendorff, North Yankton. The two devised a plan in which Norton would wait for the trio near their getaway site with a Sniper Rifle and kill Trevor, due to his borderline insanity and whom Michael believed would come after him and his family should he find out about his role in the plan; shoot Michael, who, while actually wearing a bulletproof vest, would pretend to bleed out; and arrest Brad. The plan would benefit both Michael and Dave, as the former would walk away with a clean slate, while the latter would be given a career boost for taking down the supposed "Most Wanted Man in America".
The staged robbery, however, was a disaster in execution after the guard at the front gate was shot in the head and killed; Trevor murdered a guard who snuck up on Michael, pulled off his balaclava, and held him at gunpoint; and when Michael, Brad, and Trevor were ambushed by over a dozen police officers ready to apprehend them, giving the robbers no choice but to shoot their way out. During the getaway, their driver was killed by pursuing police, forcing Michael to take the wheel and drive the crew to the ambush point he and Norton had agreed on, where he claimed there was a helicopter waiting for their arrival. The plan almost failed after their vehicle was hit by a train at a railroad crossing as they attempted to avoid a roadblock of North Yankton State Patrol vehicles.
Michael checking on Brad, who was fatally shot.
Things further deviated from the original plan when Norton accidentally shot Brad instead of Trevor due to him walking into the line of fire. Norton then proceeded to shoot Michael as planned, and as he pretended to bleed out, Michael begged Trevor to leave him behind. Enraged beyond sense, Trevor proceeded to shoot numerous arriving police officers and briefly take a woman passing by hostage before barely escaping the ambush with his life. Trevor was never caught by the police and eventually went into hiding.
After the incident, Michael Townley was declared dead, "buried" in the Ludendorff cemetary, and given a funeral. In actuality, it was Brad who was buried in Michael's grave, having died from his gunshot wound. Norton and Michael both attended the funeral, with the latter watching from a distance. News reports stated that Michael had been killed, Brad had been imprisoned, and that Trevor remained at large. Michael eventually concluded that Trevor had ended up getting himself killed, but never received confirmation of this assumption.
Upon their relocation to Los Santos, Michael and his family moved into a mansion in Rockford Hills, using the new surname "De Santa", which had been a long-term alias of Michael's.
Living the Vinewood Dream[]
Michael's life in Los Santos slowly deteriorated. He began to grow increasingly unhappy over leaving his criminal escapades behind for the family life he believed he desired, spending most of his days numbing his depression by either getting drunk, miserably lounging by his pool, or cheating on Amanda with multiple strippers, which Amanda eventually caught in the act. Michael's neglect and narcissism, along with his cheating, caused Amanda to spend much of their savings on plastic surgery and begin cheating as well, in order to get back at her husband. Their marriage eventually became a pseudo-open relationship, with unwritten rules that the other wouldn't find out about anyone they slept with, it wouldn't be on the other's dime, and it wouldn't be done in the house.[11] At the same time, Tracey and Jimmy stopped showing their father any respect due to his disapproval for their less-than-ideal lifestyle choices: Jimmy for being a lazy, video game-obsessed stoner and Tracey for being a diva willing to do anything to become famous.
Suffering from a midlife crisis and a failing marriage, Michael began visiting Isiah Friedlander, an overpriced psychologist caring very little for Michael's problems. At some point, Friedlander prescribed medication to Michael that caused him to cry, wet his pants, sleep at the dinner table, and howl in the middle of the night. Figuring he got the doses wrong, he took Michael off them.
Events of Grand Theft Auto V[]
In 2013, nine years after Michael faked his death, and after another therapy session with Dr. Friedlander, Michael has a chance encounter with his future partner-in-crime, Franklin Clinton, when he unknowingly points Franklin and his friend, Lamar Davis, in the direction of the location for their repossession job.
Michael in 2013.
A short while later, Jimmy buys an SUV from Simeon Yetarian, an Armenian car salesman (and Franklin's boss), who runs a credit fraud scam, selling the car to Jimmy on the agreement of him paying monthly installments of $5,000. After "defaulting" on a payment, Simeon has Franklin repossess the car from the De Santa Residence. He sneaks into the property and finds Jimmy's SUV parked in the garage, however, as he commandeers the vehicle and drives away from the property, Michael emerges from under some blankets in the back seat and points a pistol at Franklin's skull. The older man instructs Franklin to continue driving to the car dealership so he can meet the man who ordered the false repo job. During the trip, he sarcastically offers to buy Franklin a drink later. Upon arrival, Michael, still holding Franklin at gunpoint, demands that he drive through the front window of the dealership, which Franklin reluctantly does. Michael pays Franklin to leave before assaulting Yetarian, threatening him with more violence if he tries to rip off Michael or his family again.
A few days later, during a heated argument between Tracey and Amanda, Michael escapes to his backyard with a glass of whisky in his hand and lies in a lawn chair while listening to "I Don't Care Anymore" on his iFruit smartphone. As he relaxes, he is suddenly interrupted by Franklin, who took up Michael's earlier "offer" of a drink. Surprised that Franklin took it literally, Michael agrees to bring him to a nearby bar. On the way, however, Jimmy phones Michael and informs him that he tried to sell Michael's yacht, but the "buyers" hijacked the truck carrying it with him still on board. A furious Michael, with Franklin in tow, gives chase to the hijackers in Amanda's Sentinel and manages to rescue Jimmy but cannot recover the yacht as the car's engine stalls, having sustained damage during the chase. Michael is furious with Jimmy but is also impressed by Franklin's actions during the event, having climbed onto the boat and rescued Jimmy while fighting off the attackers.
Later on, Michael returns home to discover Amanda sleeping with her tennis coach, who escapes wearing just his underwear. Franklin shows up, and the duo chase after the coach in a truck to a stilt house in Vinewood Hills, where Michael, fueled with rage and adrenaline, commands Franklin to hook the truck's winch around the supports of the house's deck. Using the power of the truck's engine, Michael loosens the supports, causing most of the deck to collapse and crumble down the hillside, which shocks Franklin but also leaves Michael feeling satisfied with himself.
Martin Madrazo assaulting Michael.
During the drive back to Michael's house, he receives a call from the tennis coach and learns that the house does not belong to him, but rather to the mistress of Martin Madrazo, a powerful Mexican cartel leader. She sends a hit squad after Michael and Franklin for their actions, and the pair manage to fend the attackers off, but Madrazo and some of his associates soon arrive at Michael's house to confront them. Franklin informs Michael of the latter's reputation as Madrazo orders his cousin to hand him a baseball bat, which he immediately uses to bludgeon Michael lightly. Madrazo orders Michael to pay for the rebuilding of the house at the cost of $2,500,000 - money which Michael does not have - and threatens further violence upon him if he does not provide the funds before leaving. Michael realizes that to get the money, he will have to re-enter a life of crime and calls his old contact, Lester.
Later, Michael is watching a noir-style movie, but Jimmy's loud swearing through his headset while playing video games distracts Michael from enjoying it, so he decides to venture upstairs to chastise his son. After Jimmy insults and tells him to leave, Michael throws a chair at the television. This riles Jimmy up, furthering Michael's rage to the point where he eventually dares Jimmy to hit him. However, the heat quickly dies, and Michael apologizes, but tells Jimmy he's wasting his life by doing nothing productive. Michael convinces a reluctant and still angry Jimmy to drive to Vespucci Beach with him for some father and son time; however, even in the car, Jimmy still argues with and about Michael and his poor mental health, going as far as to blame his father for his own problems.
At the beach, they have a short bicycle race and finish at the Del Perro Pier. Still mad at Michael for breaking his TV and bringing him outside, Jimmy decides to upset his father by pointing out a luxurious and large yacht in the distance and explaining how Tracey is on board, hanging out with porn producers and potentially having sex with them. Furious that Jimmy only agreed to hang out with him under ulterior motives and enraged at the thought of his daughter hanging around with strange, perverted men, Michael takes his shirt off and dives into the sea, swimming to the yacht. He eventually climbs aboard and very quickly begins to cause drama by throwing a portable speaker overboard and pushing a man off the side. He takes Tracey back ashore against her will on a Seashark, but not before two of the producers give chase after him, leading to a shootout. Michael ultimately escapes and finally returns to dry land. Upon reaching the beach, Tracey and Jimmy leave, the former being angry at Michael.
Michael eventually meets with Lester, who agrees to help Michael get the money needed to pay off Madrazo, but only if he decides to sabotage a prototype phone due to be unveiled at an event keynote by Jay Norris, founder of the social networking site Lifeinvader. Michael infiltrates the Lifeinvader Office and meets a computer programmer named Rickie Lukens, who mistakes Michael for an IT technician. Rickie invites him upstairs to fix his computer, where Michael has to close dozens of pop-ups and run antivirus software to rid the computer of the viruses.
Afterwards, Michael then finds the prototype phone and swaps the battery for an explosive device given to him by Lester. He returns home and watches the live Weazel News broadcast of the keynote. During the broadcast, Norris reveals the phone, prompting Michael to call him on it, as per Lester's request. Norris answers the call, and the phone detonates next to his head, killing him instantly and cutting the broadcast short. With Lester satisfied, he helps Michael collect information about the contents of a high-end jewelry store, and makes preparations to rob it. During the planning process, Michael insists that his new friend Franklin be involved, believing the latter will find the experience beneficial.
Michael goes over the plan with his crew.
The heist goes smoothly, though during it, Michael throws a traffic cop to the ground and quotes one of Solomon Richards' movies. The debt owed to Martin Madrazo is paid off, with Michael and Franklin recieving a small cut of the takings for themselves. Meanwhile, out in Sandy Shores, Trevor Philips, who has been still alive since the cash deposit heist, watches a news report of the jewel store robbery, during which the traffic cop is interviewed and tells the reporter the quote Michael said, which catches Trevor's attention. Believing that either someone else was pretending to be his old partner-in-crime or that said famous bank robber didn't actually die, he sends his friend Wade to find Michael's whereabouts. Eventually, Wade informs Trevor that a man matching Michael's description was living in Los Santos. Trevor deduces that this man and Michael were the same individual after all and travels to Los Santos to find him.
After several days of laying low from the jewelry store heist, Michael finds marijuana in the fridge and correctly assumes it is Jimmy's. He and Amanda begin to argue, and tensions further flare up by the sudden arrival of Amanda's yoga instructor, Fabien LaRouche, whom Michael promptly insults. Jimmy then arrives to get his weed, causing Michael to taunt him with it. Trevor then unexpectedly walks in, much to everyone's shock and horror. As Trevor inspects Michael and his family, he asks where Tracey is, to which Jimmy breaks the tension by revealing she has gone to audition for the TV show Fame or Shame as a dancer. Realizing that Tracey will embarrass herself in front of the nation due to her "horrible" dancing, Michael and Trevor rush to the Maze Bank Arena, where the audition is. The two find Tracey and watch as she performs a sexually seductive dance while the show's host, Lazlow Jones, begins to join in, angering both Michael and Trevor. The pair give chase to a terrified Lazlow in a hijacked Phantom truck, pursuing him to the Los Santos River, where Lazlow's Dilettante ultimately breaks down. Trevor forces Lazlow to remove his pants and dance for him as he films it on his phone, amusing Michael. In the aftermath, Tracey is even more angry at Michael, which doesn't seem to bother him, further straining his relationship with his daughter.
Michael is contacted by Dave Norton, who knows he was the one who committed the jewelry store robbery and requests that they meet at the Galileo Observatory. Norton explains that Michael's decision to rob the store has spotlighted him in the FIB and that if his superiors read his files and discover his deal with Michael, it could cause serious repercussions for the pair. Michael reluctantly agrees to do tasks for Norton to help keep his job with the FIB, in exchange for the continued coverup of Michael's past life. Michael's first task is to locate Ferdinand Kerimov, a suspected terrorist whom the FIB's rival, the IAA, has declared to be dead. To do so, Norton knocks Michael unconscious to allow him to infiltrate the morgue. Michael regains consciousness during his "autopsy" and incapacitates one of the coroners. After searching the mortuary, Michael discovers Kerimov's identity tag attached to the foot of a different person's body, and calls Norton to let him know. Michael later escapes the morgue and phones Franklin, requesting that they meet. Michael informs him of his past with the FIB and advises Franklin to leave the city for his own safety, but Franklin tells him that he will stay and help, so as to repay Michael for his faith in him.
Steve Haines, a decorated but highly corrupt FIB agent and Norton's superior, meets with Michael and further ropes him into the FIB's bidding. Haines informs him that Kerimov is being held in the downtown IAA Headquarters and that he needs to help extract him, after which Norton explains that he will be working alongside Trevor and Franklin. Michael introduces the latter two to each other before he and Trevor fly to the IAA building in a helicopter. With Trevor piloting and Franklin proving sniper cover from a nearby building, Michael repels down the side of the skyscraper and successfully rescues Kerimov, who is taken into FIB custody.
Michael and Trevor are later summoned to a warehouse at the Port of Los Santos where Michael is briefed that he will accompany Norton to assassinate a suspected Azerbaijani terrorist, Tahir Javan, while Trevor and Haines torture Kerimov for information on Javan's whereabouts and appearance. Kerimov provides information on Javan, who is shot dead by Michael.
Later, as Michael is smoking on the couch and watching a movie, he is confronted by Amanda for smoking inside and his general attitude, starting yet another argument. Fabian arrives and invites Michael to participate in his and Amanda's yoga session, much to her irritation. The session passes relatively smoothly until Fabien performs a sexual pose on Amanda. Angry, Michael lunges at Fabian, who simply sidesteps him, causing Michael to fall into the pool. Angered by her husband's behavior, Amanda leaves with Fabien. Michael goes upstairs and asks Jimmy to hang out with him, wanting to leave the house for a while. They meet a friend of Jimmy's at Burger Shot, who gives Jimmy some cannabis and a drink. On the way home, Jimmy pressures Michael into sipping the drink, which causes him to feel drowsy. Jimmy reveals that he had the drink spiked with ketamine before pushing Michael out of the car, informing him that he's taking it and some of the money from his bank account, and that he is moving out. Michael has hallucinations of being abducted by aliens and falling from the sky before waking up in his underwear a few blocks away from his home. When he gets to the house, he finds a note from Amanda saying that she and the rest of the family are leaving due to his poor behavior.
Trevor later contacts Michael and Franklin to partake in a heist he is planning, which involves stealing unknown cargo from a mercenary group called Merryweather Security. The heist goes as planned, and Trevor finds that he has stolen a superweapon. Shortly after, Lester arrives and reveals that the weapon is highly dangerous, especially in the hands of someone like Trevor, and explains to him that if it isn't returned, they will all be relentlessly hunted down. Michael and Franklin agree, and Trevor, while furious that he cannot keep the loot, reluctantly allows it to be put back.
Michael meeting Devin in person.
After the heist, Michael, along with Franklin and Trevor, are called upon by Haines and Norton. This time, they must rob an armored truck filled with funds that the IAA has received from drug sales. Unable to get any assistance from the corrupt agents, Michael decides they will approach the job with a "classic blitz play". Despite being faced with some mild LSPD and NOOSE resistance, the heist is executed smoothly. Michael then proceeds to deliver the funds to billionaire Devin Weston, who offers him a partnership with his idol, movie producer Solomon Richards. To get this partnership, however, he has to participate in one of several robberies that involve stealing several rare cars for Weston, alongside Trevor and Franklin.
Michael eagerly agrees and fulfills his end of the bargain. Thrilled, he eventually meets Richards, who hires him as an assistant. Richards explains that while filming his latest movie, Meltdown, actor Milton McIlroy and his agent, Ancelotti Crime Family made man Rocco Pelosi, demanded that they renegotiate McIlroy's deal, which Richards refused, prompting the two to convince director Anton Beaudelaire to cease production until their demands are met. Michael confronts Rocco and assaults him before climbing into a helicopter containing McIlroy and Beaudelaire, where he then performs dangerous maneuvers with it to scare the two into submission. This gets Michael on Richards' good side, and he is promised the role of associate producer for the upcoming film if he continues his good work.
Martin Madrazo later summons Michael and Trevor to his ranch, offering them a job. The crime boss, who now sees Michael as a friend, explains that his cousin is planning to fly out to Liberty City to testify against him. He asks Michael and Trevor to shoot down the private jet carrying him and recover some sensitive documents onboard. Michael does his part by bringing it down with a remote sniper inside a van, while Trevor makes it to the crash site and recovers the files, before returning to Madrazo to give them to him.
Trevor surprises Michael with a kidnapping.
After destroying the van, Michael finds out, to his horror, that Madrazo refused to pay the pair, causing Trevor to attack him and kidnap Madrazo's wife, Patricia, after he witnessed her husband mistreating her. Knowing what Madrazo might do to them if he catches them, Michael agrees to hide in Sandy Shores with Trevor in his trailer, alongside Patricia. Later on, Haines and Norton summon Michael, Franklin, and Trevor for another mission against the IAA. This time, the two agents plot to raid the Humane Labs and Research to steal a dangerous neurotoxin they claim the agency is developing there. To carry out this operation, the trio must secure funds to purchase a Cargobob and other required equipment for the heist. Ultimately, they, along with Lester, settle on robbing the Blaine County Savings Bank in Paleto Bay, as it, according to Trevor, contains millions of dollars deposited there by Blaine County's corrupt law enforcement department who extort money from the local cannabis farms and meth labs.
While planning the robbery, Trevor receive a call from Franklin, where they discover he is tailing the remaining O'Neil brothers – inbred, redneck meth dealers who are vengeful due to an earlier attack by Trevor on their ranch that resulted in the murders of most of the O'Neil family and the destruction of their cookhouse. While Michael and Trevor fly to Franklin's location, the O'Neils crash in the forest. Using a rifle fitted with a thermal scope, Michael shoots two of the brothers, while Franklin locates and kills the final O'Neil with the help of Lamar's dog, Chop.
Using stolen military body armor and machine guns, Trevor, Michael, Franklin, and a gunman successfully rob the Paleto Bay bank, taking a small cut each and giving the largest profit to Haines and Norton so they can purchase the equipment for the Humane Labs robbery, much to the team's irritation. While awaiting this operation, Michael and Trevor carry out another job, raiding a Merryweather courier train that carries gold and priceless artifacts so that they can pay off Martin Madrazo. Trevor derails the train over a bridge in Raton Canyon, after which Michael dives into the river below to retrieve the merchandise, taking an ancient Aztec fertility statue that Madrazo would value. Trevor is dissatisfied with Michael's choice of loot, though he calms down when Michael proposes that, once they get the FIB off their cases, they can carry out a heist they've dreamed about doing for years - stealing millions of dollars worth of gold bullion from the Union Depository. Initially, Trevor states that it can't be done, verging suicidal almost, but mutually accepts when Michael challenges him on that being a line he's afraid to cross.
Trevor confronts Michael about Brad, one last time.
When Michael, Trevor, and Franklin meet with Haines and Norton for the Humane Labs robbery, Haines verbally berates them for not bringing in three more men for the operation - a fact they were left in the dark about when he forgot to let them know. With no other choice, Haines and Norton are forced to join Michael in extracting the neurotoxin, while Trevor and Franklin are on vehicle detail. They successfully retrieve the neurotoxin, but when the Cargobob takes too long to escape, Haines shoots himself in the leg to pass as a double agent and distract the oncoming IAA personnel while Michael and Norton to escape.
After safely returning to Los Santos with Madrazo being taken care of, Michael receives an unexpected visit from Trevor at his house, who pitches him with the idea of busting Brad out of jail. Michael's reluctance to go ahead with the plan leads to a debate, during which Trevor finally realizes that Brad is, in fact, dead and buried at Michael's supposed grave in North Yankton. He hastily travels to Ludendorff with Michael in pursuit, where he confirms his suspicions. After a standoff at the grave, they are attacked by Triad henchmen on orders of leader Wei Cheng, who wanted to meet with Trevor for his role in wiping out the O'Neil brothers, who the Triads were planning to work with. The Triads incorrectly assumed that Michael and Trevor were gay lovers while surveying them during their exile to Sandy Shores. Trevor flees, leaving Michael to fend off the henchmen, causing him to be captured and brought back to Los Santos, where he is held within a slaughterhouse. Cheng later calls Trevor and reveals that they will kill Michael unless Trevor agrees to meet with him. Angry at Michael for his betrayal, Trevor sarcastically tells Cheng that he "loves [Michael] dearly" and hangs up the phone, refusing to accept the demands.
When Cheng realizes that Trevor won't meet him, he orders that Michael be put into one of the slaughterhouse's meat grinders. With the help of Lester, Michael is rescued by Franklin, who afterwards presses him about what happened in Ludendorff. Michael opens up about his past decision to betray Trevor and defends that he had to do it for his family. He attempts to keep Franklin from prying further by reminding him of Weston's car job, but Franklin informs him that he, Trevor, and his friend Lamar had already completed it, only for Weston to stiff them on the payment. Confused, Michael assures him that he will speak with Weston the next time he heads to the studio.
Michael returns to the movie studio to resume work with Solomon. After witnessing Pelosi and his associate Gianni assault Solomon, Michael chases the two and ends up killing both of them. In return, Solomon keeps his word and credits Michael as an associate producer in his upcoming film, much to Michael's overwhelming joy. As he exits the studio, he leaves a voicemail message on Amanda's phone to convince her that he is finally doing something good with his life.
Michael and Franklin are called up once again by Haines for one more job: to break into the FIB Headquarters and remove incriminating evidence against Haines, as his ploy as a double agent caused Haines' superiors to start looking into his recent activities. This goes according to plan, except that while deleting the files on Steve, Michael also deletes the files the FIB had on himself, removing Steve's leverage over him. When Michael meets Haines, Norton, and fellow FIB agent Andreas Sanchez at the Kortz Center for debriefing, Haines attempts to arrest him. However, this drastically turns into a Mexican standoff when the men all pull guns on each other. The situation further escalates with the arrival of an IAA team led by the U.L. Paper Contact, a rogue FIB team working alongside Sanchez, and a Merryweather team. Haines is shot in the leg by an FIB operative, but manages to escape, killing Sanchez in the process. Norton and Michael proceed to fight their way through the Merryweather mercenaries, FIB, and IAA agents and escape with the help of Trevor. Despite not forgiving Michael, he promises not to kill him if they succeed in their upcoming Union Depository robbery. Later they help Franklin deal with an incident where his friend Lamar is kidnapped by a rival gang.
Having had enough of being alone, Michael, with the help of Jimmy, finally seeks out and reunites his family. With them back in the house and his involvement in Solomon Richards' upcoming film, things start to look positive for him until Devin Weston announces his intentions to exploit the movie studio's insurance policy by destroying the completed film so he can claim the insurance money, ultimately closing the studio which he will promptly buy and demolish to build condos on the site. Infuriated upon learning of Weston's intentions, Michael chases the former's lawyer to the airport to try and retrieve the film's master copy. During the chase, she is accidentally killed after being sucked into a jet engine. Michael recovers the film, and Solomon arranges a premiere so that it cannot be tampered with further.
On the other hand, Michael goes to a therapy session with Dr. Friedlander again, where he learns, to his fury, that his psychiatrist has been using details from their sessions to make himself famous without his knowledge. Sensing Michael's anger, Friedlander flees, though later sends an apology email which Michael rebukes.[12]
Michael annoyed with Devin's appearance at the premiere.
At the premiere for Meltdown, Weston, furious over his lawyer's death, unexpectedly appears and cryptically reveals his plans to kill Michael's family in revenge for his lawyer's death. Michael rushes home to find Merryweather operatives assaulting his house. He kills the intruders and protects his family from oncoming mercenaries until the coast is clear. Afterwards, his family temporarily leaves again, this time upon Michael's request, for their own protection. The next morning, Michael calls Lester from the Del Perro Pier and angrily informs him about Merryweather's attack. Despite this incident, Michael is still confident in performing their heist on the Union Depository. The heist is pulled off successfully, as Michael, Franklin, Trevor, Lester, and their crew manage to steal over $200 million worth of gold bullion.
Ending[]
Following the heist, both Steve Haines and Devin Weston visit Franklin. Haines wants Franklin to kill Trevor due to his unpredictable nature, while Weston asks that Franklin kill Michael instead, because Weston still wants revenge on him. Franklin can either choose one of these options or team up with Michael and Trevor one last time and, with the help of Lester and Lamar, take down their remaining enemies. Ultimately, Franklin chooses the latter.
The Third Way[]
Lester falsely leaks to Haines and Weston that the stolen gold is being melted down at a local foundry, to bait them into sending their men with the intention that they would be wiped out, leaving the two with nothing to throw back. As Lester predicted, Haines sends FIB teams while Weston sends Merryweather operatives, who are all promptly ambushed by Michael, Trevor, Franklin, and Lamar. Once all of the mercenaries and agents are taken out, Michael has Trevor and Franklin kill Steve Haines and Wei Cheng, respectively. Meanwhile, he kills a gang member rival to Franklin named Stretch, so as not to implicate Franklin as a potential suspect. Afterwards, Michael meets Franklin and Trevor, the latter having kidnapped Weston, locked him in the trunk of his car, and brought him to a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean within the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness. After taunting Weston about their apparent victory, the trio push the car off the cliff, sending it into the ocean where it promptly explodes, killing Weston. After Michael makes peace with Trevor, all three men decide to end their lives of crime, but still remain friends.
Later, Michael receives an email from Don Percival, the CEO of Merryweather, thanking him for taking out Devin, as he was able to buy back Devin's company shares at a reduced price. He tells Michael that no reply is necessary and that he should not interfere with his business ventures again.
If Michael and Trevor hang out, Michael will sincerely apologize for everything and offer Trevor his share of the Union Depository money. Trevor declines the money but accepts Michael's apology, officially ending their feud.
Something Sensible[]
Franklin calls Michael, informing him of his intent to kill Trevor. While Michael says this sounds like something Franklin should handle himself, he agrees to help if he can. Franklin pulls a gun on Trevor at the Murrieta Oilfields, who flees, resulting in a car chase between the two, during which Franklin again calls Michael for help. He arrives in a Premier and t-bones Trevor's truck, causing him to crash into a gas tanker and soaking him in gasoline. As Trevor crawls out of his vehicle, he curses Michael and Franklin for betraying him, as they were two of his closest friends and some of the very few people he trusted. One of the two shoots the gas, igniting it and incinerating Trevor. As they walk away, Michael and Franklin reflect on Trevor's psychotic nature. They split up and are about to leave before Franklin sarcastically remarks on the event as an "illuminating experience", which Michael counters by telling him to survive and that everything else is "bullshit".
Afterward, Michael and Franklin frequently reassure each other and those who ask that they made the right choice and chose the necessary option due to Trevor's dangerous nature. Michael and Franklin are no longer able to hang out, as if they meet in person Michael will decide that he needs time away. Michael receives a call from Jimmy, asking what happened to Trevor, to which Michael implies that he was involved in his death, upsetting Jimmy, who can also no longer hang out with him. Michael later receives an email from Trevor's friend Ron Jakowski, who is angry at Michael for killing him and ruining the business they grew together. Michael considers the email "spam" and tells Ron not to contact him again. Additionally, Trevor's cut from the Union Depository heist is split between Michael and Franklin.
The Time's Come[]
Franklin calls Michael and asks to meet in a secluded location in the desert to talk, which Michael obliges. Shortly after Michael arrives, he receives a call from Amanda, who informs him that Tracey has been accepted into college. After Michael finishes the call, the duo reflect on their partnership. However, Michael realizes that Franklin led him out to the desert to kill him, and escapes in his car with Franklin following close behind, eventually ending up at the Palmer-Taylor Power Station. Franklin chases Michael onto one of the chimney walkways and pushes Michael over the rail after a minor scuffle. Before he can fall, however, Franklin grabs Michael's arm, leaving him hanging precariously over the side. Franklin either drops him or has second thoughts and attempts to save him. If the latter is chosen, he will try to pull Michael up, only for him to headbutt Franklin, causing him to let go and drop Michael to his death.
Afterward, Trevor, Amanda, and Jimmy deduce that Franklin is responsible for Michael's death and will no longer speak to him. Furthermore, Michael's family puts their house up for sale and receives his Union Depository cut.
Events of Grand Theft Auto Online[]
The Contract[]
As of 2021, Michael still works at Richards Majestic Studios. While chasing two Caddies that happen to drive through the studio complex, Franklin will remark to his associate that he hopes Michael isn't working that day.
A Safehouse in the Hills[]
Famous Vinewood film producer Michael De Santa in his late 50s/early 60s.
By 2025, Michael is still happily married to Amanda while their children have moved out, leaving Michael and Amanda as "empty nesters" with too much time on their hands. Michael also retains the status of a famous Vinewood film producer he gained after the release of Meltdown. He is currently the owner of film production company De Santa, which is responsible for the production of several movies, including Drive Fast, Die Slow. De Santa film productions have gained immense popularity in Vinewood, with artists such as Zelma Bosch attempting to get their pieces of art into Michael's films as props.
In late 2025, Amanda decides to visit a new neighbor, the GTA Online Protagonist, who has recently moved into a Prix Luxury mansion close to the De Santa Residence. Michael accompanies Amanda to greet their neighbor and, during the visit, briefly talks in private with the protagonist, acknowledging that they have many mutual contacts and recognizing several of their past achievements, such as the hit on The Diamond Casino & Resort. The house tour is briefly interrupted by Mr. Faber, who expresses interest in working with Michael and the protagonist, though Michael is reluctant and discreetly warns the protagonist to be wary of Faber. Michael eventually hands the protagonist his business card, asking to stay in touch, and leaves with Amanda to let the player settle into their new home.
After the protagonist assists Avi Schwartzman in bringing down the FIB-linked KnoWay company, the company retaliates by sending heavily armed mercenaries to invade their mansion. Michael sees the assault in progress and arrives to help, saving the owner from capture and helping them fend off the attack. Michael and the protagonist then go celebrate with a bottle of champagne as the former fondly remarks that "he's still got it". After asking the protagonist not to tell Amanda of his involvement if they see her, Michael calls his wife to tell her he will arrive home shortly and bids the player farewell, promising to see them around.
Characters Murdered by Michael De Santa[]
Characters murdered by Michael De Santa in the storyline of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
- Jay Norris – Murdered for Lester Crest so that he would rejoin Michael for robberies.
- Pete's assistant – Strangled to death to prevent him from sounding the alarm at the IAA morgue.
- Tahir Javan – Murdered on orders from Steve Haines for alleged ties to terrorist groups.
- Javier Madrazo's pilot – Died as a result of a plane crash caused by Michael's gunfire.
- Walton O'Neil – Murdered for seeking retribution against Trevor Philips.
- Wynn O'Neil – Murdered for seeking retribution against Trevor Philips.
- Gianni – Murdered for harassing and assaulting Solomon Richards.
- Rocco Pelosi – Murdered for harassing and assaulting Solomon Richards.
- Merryweather mercenaries - Killed when they are sent by Devin Weston to kill Amanda and Tracey.
- Stretch – Murdered for trying to have Franklin Clinton and Lamar Davis killed.
- Devin Weston – Murdered for trying to have Michael and his family killed.
- KnoWay Mercenaries – Killed when they are sent to murder his new neighbor.
Optional murders[]
Characters optionally murdered by Michael De Santa, depending on the player's choice.
- Blake – Can be killed during the chase in the mission Daddy's Little Girl.
- Freddy Slade – Can be killed during the chase in the mission Daddy's Little Girl.
- Deputy Kirkman – Can be killed during The Paleto Score.
- Deputy Grimes – Can be killed during The Paleto Score.
- Elwood O'Neil – Murdered by either Michael or Franklin for seeking retribution against Trevor Philips.
- Tracey's Stalker – Can be killed or spared during the mission Doting Dad.
Strangers and Freaks murders[]
Characters optionally murdered by Michael De Santa during the Strangers and Freaks missions, depending on the player's choice.
- Abigail Mathers – Can be killed after the Strangers and Freaks mission What Lies Beneath.
Non-canon murders[]
Characters optionally murdered by Michael De Santa in Grand Theft Auto V, although not intended to be killed. These characters are still alive regardless of the player's choice, and some physically appear in the post-2013 events of Grand Theft Auto Online.
- Simeon Yetarian – Can be killed after completing his random event. He is not intended to be killed, as he is not directly targetable with weapons until the random event is completed by leaving the car dealership.
- Patrick McReary – Can be killed during his random event and confirmed non-canon, as he is still alive in 2019.
- The Lost Girl – Can be killed during her random event and confirmed non-canon, as she is still alive in 2018.
- Jewelry Store Clerk – Can be killed during the loud approach in the mission The Jewel Store Job to prevent her from sounding the alarm (only if Michael chose a bad gunman in Casing the Jewel Store). Confirmed non-canon, as she is still alive during the events of the After Hours update in GTA Online, set in 2018.
- Pete – Can be killed during Dead Man Walking (he's hiding behind a reception desk) and confirmed non-canon, as he will bleet after completing the mission.
- United Liberty Paper Contact – Can be killed during the mission The Wrap Up and confirmed non-canon as he is still alive during the events of The Doomsday Heist update in GTA Online, set in 2017.
- Trevor Philips – If Franklin chooses the mission Something Sensible, but does not shoot Trevor at the end of the mission, then Michael will shoot instead. Confirmed non-canon, as he's mentioned and is alive in many post-Gunrunning update events in GTA Online.
- Isiah Friedlander – Can be killed during Michael's final visit to him. Confirmed non-canon, as he is still alive in 2023 during the second part of the events of The Los Santos Drug Wars update.
- Jesse – Can be killed during the Stranger & Freaks mission Unknowing the Truth, and confirmed as non-canon, as he is killed by the GTA Online Protagonist during the mission Liquid Assets, set in 2022.
Description[]
Physical appearance[]
Michael is a Caucasian male, aged either 45 or 48, with black hair and light green eyes. Michael is of heavy build and is 6' 2" (1.88 m) tall and weighs 210 lbs (95 kg).[13]
Medical examiners in Dead Man Walking describe Michael as overweight, with fat deposits on his abdomen suggesting a "fondness" for Bleeder Burgers, leading them to suspect his "death" as a result of coronary failure. They and Trevor in Derailed have noted his poor hygiene due to his drinking and smoking cigarettes, giving him discolored teeth and fingers, with the examiners estimating he smoked approximately a pack of cigarettes a day with cigars. The medical examiners also noticed broken capillaries around his nose to indicate his alcoholism and deduced he had an unhealthy liver.
In official artwork, he is shown to have blue eyes and dark brown hair. His default appearance is a cleft chin with a Lexington hairstyle and short stubble around his face. Michael's physique is thicker and more heavily built than the likes of Trevor and Franklin, having burly, veiny arms and legs. This most certainly comes from his time as a quarterback and his stint in prison. Although Michael isn't obese or out of shape, many people around him will occasionally make fun of his rather large midsection, such as Jimmy and Trevor or even Michael himself at many times. Michael's movement is also much slower than Franklin and Trevor's, as he's much older. On top of that, his ten-year retirement from crime means he is not as physically active as the other two. During Pack Man, Trevor tells Lamar that when he met Michael, he was "kinda fat, but strong underneath".
Michael's initial wardrobe sets him with a gray two-piece suit without a tie and casual attires like beach shorts with sandals or polo shirts. His gray suit is his default outfit used in most of his artwork and concept art. He shows approval as he's trying out outfits at Ponsonby's, as opposed to the clear disdain of buying items from Suburban or Binco. His Prologue appearance has him with shorter, shaven hair. It is between his default Lexington and The Wood hairstyle, somewhat similar to the Cesar haircut of CJ. His facial features are still the same.
Michael's beta appearance can be seen in trailers one and two, where he is seen with green eyes and an older look. This was changed later in the character's development to make him look like he wasn't too old to perform some of his actions during gameplay.
By the events of A Safehouse in the Hills, set in 2025, he looks significantly older, with visible wrinkles and greying hair, which is essentially a slightly receded version of the Lexington style from GTA V. His black suit is also reused from the game. He seems more physically active than he was in GTA V, in which many characters make comments on his weight. This is shown in how he can still take on dozens of KnoWay mercenaries, and mentions he still frequently plays tennis.
Personality[]
Michael and his friends.
Michael is muddled, even confused, by his "good and evil" personalities. He spends an unusual amount of time in his head, where he can comfortably think or reminisce about certain things or aspects that give him a brief moment of nostalgia for his glory days. Nevertheless, it also constrains him into a world of wistfulness and bewilderment as he ponders why things aren't going in the direction he planned. Michael is obsessed with materialistic appearance and images, so he dreams of living out his "Vinewood Dream" with his family. He claims to Franklin that he has lived a repeated pattern of "Chase things, get em', hate em'."
Michael holds a deep-seated amount of self-hatred due to him wanting to live a false lifestyle rather than coming to the conclusion that his troubling mistakes have brought a great deal of misfortune upon himself, his family, and old friends and associates (his agreement with the FIB is a prime example). The self-hatred gives him an exceptionally short temper that he does not know how to control, which fills him with rage and causes him to not think at times. One example is when he caught Amanda having an affair with her tennis coach, Kyle Chavis. He chases Kyle to a mansion and pulls it down a hillside, believing it belonged to him, despite Chavis stating that it was far too expensive for him to own on his tennis coach salary.
Sarcasm is something that Michael firmly grasps because of his self-hatred, as he does not know how to respond to his family or friends properly at times without it. He indicates this in the mission Paleto Score Setup, where he proclaims that sarcasm is one of the only things he has left in this world that cannot be taken away from him.
Michael is a highly egotistical and narcissistic man. He only shows concern about the issues he is being pulled through instead of the situations he constantly puts his family or friends through. He will often get unfairly defensive when someone rightfully criticizes him. A case in point of this wrongdoing is shown in one of his many heated arguments with his wife, Amanda. At the start of the mission Fame or Shame, she castigates him for not giving her any support in raising their children and only wanting to cater to himself by Getting drunk, or you're staring miserably at the clouds, or you're out there doing God only knows what. He responds with the fact that he, Pulled you out of a midwestern trailer park, got you a big mansion in Rockford Hills, and that the only thing she'll have to worry about is What part of your body you want to have chopped off or sucked out again. Another instance is in the same mission, where Trevor chides him for letting Tracey humiliate herself on public television the way she did and labeling it as Poor parenting. Michael responds defensively, Yeah, thanks for the fucking feedback. It means a lot coming from you. The same goes for Lester and Franklin.
During Predator, Trevor criticizes Michael for instantly thinking about himself, claiming it is "typical" of him. During The Paleto Score, Michael argues with Trevor over the latter's kidnapping of Patricia Madrazo, resulting in their exile in Sandy Shores to avoid the wrath of her husband, Martin. Michael complains that Trevor is not making his situation any easier, and Trevor again criticizes Michael for only thinking about himself. At the beginning of The Bureau Raid (Fire Crew entry), when Lester is explaining the plan to Michael, Michael describes it as "a bit idiotic". Lester explains that he tried his best and that Michael chose this method. He then claims that Trevor "has a point" about Michael "whining too much", to which Michael responds by giving Lester the finger. At the beginning of the Roof Entry setup for the same mission, Lester continuously reproaches Michael for his constant bickering about the former, managing to still stay calm and collected as they prepare to pull off a dangerous raid on one of the most secure buildings in the country. Michael gets so annoyed that he refuses to return Lester's cane to him unless he retracts everything he stated. Lester does so reluctantly. When Michael tries to pull the same bickering move on Franklin, the latter fires back at him with irritation, leaving Michael apologizing for not noticing how self-absorbed he's been.
Another of Michael's negative traits is his hypocrisy. He frequently scolds the people around him for their mistakes and bad habits but refuses to acknowledge his own. At the start of the mission "Daddy's Little Girl", he criticizes Jimmy for slouching all day in front of the TV, playing video games, and eating profusely, despite the fact he does almost the exact same thing. With Tracey, he denies her the opportunity to become famous by intervening against her wishes while actively currying favor with Solomon Richards to be a renowned movie producer by working with unsavory individuals. With Amanda, he claims she is "wasteful" with his money even though she notices that Michael's day trading is hurting the family finances during "The Good Husband" on their way home. He does the same thing towards Trevor, openly judging his will to maim, kill, and steal with ease and pleasure while not showing any signs of remorse, even though Michael himself displays little to no remorse for the various people he kills. At the same time, he actively provokes trouble with Simeon, Blake, Lazlow and Madrazo over petty issues his family has.
During The Paleto Score, Michael complains to Trevor that he misses his family. Trevor angrily retorts that Michael never paid attention to them and only misses them now that they've left him. Although he openly claims to his therapist that he does the same thing, he hides it underneath multiple lies, a few of them being that he does not enjoy the "thrill of the action" or that he does not hold a "plain yet wilfully strong addiction to chaos".
Another big trait of Michael is that despite being extremely intelligent, he is also very impulsive as he will sometimes act before thinking which is pointed out by Martin in Marriage Counseling when he pulls Martins house down, not realising that a tennis coach wouldn’t have been able to afford a house like that and Devin in Legal Trouble when Michael chases Molly down not even thinking about the possible consequences.
The see-through hypocrisy can simultaneously show how easily and massively dishonest he is. Regardless of whether it is himself, his family, or friends, Michael displays difficulty when trying to convey the truth. For instance, whenever Trevor brings up a subject involving Brad, Michael will immediately yet vaguely change the topic. Once Trevor realizes that Brad is dead, Michael continues to lie about his grave being empty instead of it actually containing Brad's corpse. Even after Brad's corpse is exhumed, Michael unwittingly lies about his death instead of coming out with the truth about the staged robbery nine years ago, which causes Trevor to grow irritated and angry. At the end of the mission Surveying the Score, Franklin questions Michael's past relationship with Trevor to the point where Michael has to steadily ask him to stop in hopes of covering his tracks and not letting Franklin catch wind of his deal with the FIB nine years ago and quite possibly letting Trevor know in the process.
His judgment calls will also cause negative repercussions. After being "green lit" by Martin Madrazo, he brushes it off, telling Franklin that he's known worse human beings. He then begins to take it back after receiving an astringent blow to his midsection with a baseball bat delivered by Madrazo himself. He even declares Martin a terrifying psychopath. With Devin Weston, he wanted no part in Weston's plans to highjack several high-end vehicles, that is, until Weston promised to arrange a meeting with Michael's idol, Solomon Richards. After this, he keeps Devin in a positive mood to ensure that none of his business ventures are ruined, even if that means making Franklin work for Devin continuously without payment.
Despite all the negatives, Michael does possess a good side to his personality. He is a very considerate individual, as he pays Franklin for doing what he is forced to do: driving through the front of his boss' business, even though the latter broke into Michael's mansion. Despite all the problems he has in his family, he dearly loves them. Still, he is frequently angered by Tracey's social life, Jimmy being jobless, lazy, and a video game addict and Amanda spending most of his money and cheating on him. However, Michael's family issues slowly started to dissolve after their reunion.
It should also be noted that it is very clear that Michael cares for his friends more than he shows. If Franklin chooses to kill Trevor in the end, Michael will stop hanging out with Franklin for a while because he is devastated by Trevor's death. However, he later apologizes to Franklin and reassures him they are still friends. If the player chooses to kill Michael, his extremely aggressive behavior towards Franklin shows that he loved him as a friend and can't believe Franklin did not feel the same.
Being the opposite of Trevor, Michael is thorough and rational regarding crime. This makes others leave him to plan and lead robberies and missions, as he is usually the one to devise a plan for a heist alongside Lester. He also shows consideration for people caught up in robberies. An example is that if you choose to pose as guards for the Union Depository heist, Michael will give the guard he blackmailed a bar of gold to help them get past security.
Michael will also always put his family's safety above anything else, going as far as to make a moral compromise with the FIB to ensure his family is not in danger. When Trevor first comes back to find Michael in his house, Michael immediately puts himself in front of Jimmy, not knowing what Trevor is going to do. When Devin Weston sent Merryweather to Michael's house to kill his family, Michael instantly abandoned his movie premiere to engage the hostile forces, rescue his family, and subsequently move them to a new location. Michael's care about his family is finally reciprocated by Amanda towards the end of the game, at which time she makes him promise not to get killed.
Towards the end of the game, Michael starts to accept his borderline-sociopath personality, stating in the final cutscene of the Deathwish ending that he still hates himself, but "at least he knows the words for it". Michael has also started to work on his anger issues when his family comes back and can be seen expressing a great amount of regret for the decisions he has made, becoming more truthful and open. This is evident when he hangs out with Franklin; he expresses great distaste for his decision to betray Trevor with the help of Dave to secure a future for himself, seeing as the decision itself was "hollow" and only created more problems as well as causing much more resentment for not only for himself but the people around him as well.
Relationships with other characters[]
Family[]
While living in North Yankton, Michael had a stronger bond with his loved ones, and they could get along with each other. But after relocating to Los Santos, Michael's obsession with living the "Vinewood Dream", along with his depression about having to abandon his criminal lifestyle and betraying his criminal accomplices, made him neglect and alienate his family. At the same time, he became egocentric, selfish, and conceited. Early in the storyline, Michael is constantly seen fussing, bickering, and arguing with his family until the mission Did Somebody Say Yoga?, where they abandon him in search of a more peaceful living. After Michael reunites with his family in the mission Reuniting the Family, Michael will be seen bonding with them much more often than before, as they all promise to fix their relationship before things become disastrous. While hanging out with Amanda, Michael admits that he thought he lost his family for good once they left him, making him eager to change his ways.
Michael and Amanda arguing.
Amanda De Santa - Amanda's relationship with Michael began in a strip club where she was a stripper. The two fell in love, had two children, and eventually married. Amanda devoted so much to Michael that she even left everything she had in North Yankton to move to Los Santos and their children to begin their lives away from Michael's past crimes. During the events of the game, Amanda can barely tolerate him anymore due to his arrogant and hypocritical personality and verbally abusive behavior towards her. After catching Michael in bed with another stripper, Amanda began to have affairs with multiple men, including her tennis coach, which further strained their marriage, with Michael implied to be reciprocating this infidelity by calling up hookers at motels and allowing her to have affairs on the condition of not having sex with other men in his home. Amanda finally hits her breaking point when Fabien does a sexual pose on her, which angers Michael, who then attempts to punch Fabien. Fabien reacts by sidestepping and makes Michael land in the swimming pool. Amanda then berates Michael for his attempted action, calling him "a pathetic psychopath", and leaves him with Tracey while Jimmy moves out on his own (according to him).
Michael later suffers from depression after his wife and kids leave him. However, Jimmy reveals to Franklin that Amanda very much misses Michael, frequently asking about him and even telling Franklin at one point to let her know if he's doing well. It turns out that Amanda and their kids were even more miserable living with Fabien than with Michael. After Jimmy reveals that Fabien is starting to bore Amanda and is only interested in the sexual aspect of the relationship and being a mooch, he tells Michael about the couple's hangout spot. Amanda was then seen hanging out with Fabien at a local Bean Machine coffee shop, getting berated by Fabien and later being told to pay for a custom-made unitard. Michael steps in angrily in defense of Amanda, and she allows Michael to hit him in the face with a laptop. Michael then agrees to arrange a therapy session with Dr. Friedlander, bringing Jimmy and Tracey along. During the session, Michael and Amanda had a screaming match in front of their kids (during which he threatened to kill Amanda if she ever had him put in jail) to clear up the situation that would ultimately keep their marriage in ruins. Amanda and the kids move back in with Michael afterward, and their feelings are rekindled by the end of the story, brought closer together by various events. Certain random switch-ups with Michael involving Amanda will also be altered. For example, whereas in the past, when dropping Amanda off at a mall or something of the sort, they would be rude to each other, they now kindly bid each other goodbye. Another example would be Michael getting out of bed after a sexual night with Amanda, to which she'll even smack him on his buttocks as he leaves the room. He also expresses generosity afterward, whereas before, he was stingy with his money.
Michael and Jimmy in happier times.
Jimmy De Santa - Jimmy's relationship with his father is also rocky; even though Michael is far from perfect, he loves his son but does not know how to display it. His son is not very moral either, as he often takes drugs and attempts to sell his father's boat without him knowing, ending with the boat being stolen. They have a confused and strained relationship with each other. Michael tries to improve their relationship by spending time with his son, but to no avail, as he lacks any form of respect for his father. At one point, he even drugs Michael, takes money from his bank account, and steals his car. However, Jimmy soon regrets his actions and visits his father, saying he does love him and promises to get a job and not be a lazy, pot-smoking, video game addict, which can be seen in-game. His relationship with his father seems to improve after the mission Reuniting the Family, as shown in the cutscenes when switching characters to Michael. Examples of this are both arriving home from a bicycle ride or playing video games in Jimmy's room, with Michael always losing.
Michael taking Tracey away from the yacht.
Tracey De Santa - Michael's relationship with his daughter is also considered frail. Despite this, Michael does love Tracey but is often angry at her loose behavior and social life, such as her hanging out with drug dealers and porn stars, and embarrasses her by interrupting her audition for " Fame or Shame " by chasing Lazlow out of the building for performing a sexual pose on her. Once Tracey leaves her father, she gives him a phone call, claiming that he needs help. Like Jimmy, however, Tracey continues to grow tiresome of Fabien throughout the storyline. She'll even email Michael once to explain that she misses him. After Michael's family returns home, Tracey seems to develop a better relationship with her father, which starts improving once Michael humiliates Lazlow in the tattoo parlor and demands that Lazlow put Tracey on "Fame or Shame" by doing whatever she wants in the show. Michael even helps Tracey deal with a creepy old man stalking her. However, Tracey still continues trying to be a celebrity, but somewhere after the story ends, she believes that people need to stop sending her sex toys because she doesn't do that on camera.
Friends[]
Michael has had a rather difficult time making friends. The friends that he surrounded himself with in his previous life were, in his words, not the type to associate with since they either ended up missing or dead. Even after becoming semi-retired, he still doesn't have many friends. This is mostly caused by his antisocial personality, which keeps him inside his head.
Trevor Philips - Trevor's relationship with Michael started around the late 1980s, over twenty years prior to the game's events, when he and Trevor were escorting cargo across the border. Trevor claims that Michael's victim came after him, so Trevor shot a flare into the other man's head and dumped the body using his plane (which Trevor claimed "Never smelled the same again."), and as soon as they left the plane, they both threw up and became friends.[14][15] Michael convinced Trevor to join him to commit further robberies, seeing as they worked well as a team. Thus, they started a long partnership. While Trevor viewed Michael as a friend and possibly a spiritual brother who could understand him and his psychotic ways, Michael viewed Trevor as an insane liability with special uses. Their alleged companionship was okay until Michael met his future wife, Amanda, causing their friendship to strain since Trevor and Amanda didn't see eye to eye. After the botched North Yankton heist, Michael and Trevor assumed one another to be dead. Following Michael's relapse into crime, Trevor discovers that he is alive and concludes that he faked his death. While viewing Michael as a friend, Trevor starts to treat him with derision as he feels betrayed by Michael, but both still get on well enough. Their friendship is even further strained when Trevor begins to piece together the truth about Michael's survival and Brad's death, leading to a standoff between the two. From this point on, Trevor vowed to kill Michael but still needed the man alive so they could pull off one last job together. Michael sees in Trevor everything he despises about himself, so he'd try to pin everything on him or think of betraying him again. This is highlighted during the mission The Big Score. As Michael and his crew are escaping from the cops, he'd say things like, "If we are caught, it's all Trevor's idea".
In Something Sensible, Trevor won't become friends with Michael again, as he is involved in his death alongside Franklin. He will state, "I thought I was with one Judas! I'm surrounded by them". If Franklin doesn't kill Trevor, then Michael will shoot him instead. He will tell Franklin weeks later that he regrets his actions and doesn't want to know him anymore. In The Time's Come, Trevor is not directly involved, but works out that Franklin is responsible for Michael's death. It seems that Trevor wanted to forgive Michael, but didn't have a chance to apologize. He will call Franklin a "Judas", a "backstabber" and a traitor. In The Third Way, Michael and Trevor have one last standoff before Franklin explains that both men have two options: kill each other right now or work together to kill Devin Weston, Steve Haines and the rest of their enemies. Trevor ends up picking the second choice, with the outcome being successful. As the incident ends, Michael and Trevor finally manage to rekindle their friendship, with Trevor considering Michael a friend, albeit one that he hates, which Michael accepts. After this, while hanging out with each other, Michael offers Trevor a part of his share of The Big Score (which Trevor rejects) and apologizes again; this time, Trevor accepts the apology. The next time they hang out, Trevor will apologize to Michael, and he admits he shouldn't have reacted the way he did.
Franklin Clinton - Franklin meets Michael after stealing a car from the latter's house. Michael then has Franklin take him to whoever tasked Franklin with stealing his son's car. From the start, Franklin was impressed with Michael's professional criminality, and after his firing from Premium Deluxe Motorsport, he sought out Michael for possible work. After Franklin saves Jimmy, Michael sees much potential in the young man. Following Franklin's help with the jewelry store heist, Michael refers to Franklin as a true friend and the "son I always wanted". Franklin, in turn, seems to respect Michael, is grateful for improving his life, and is loyal to him. He even helps Michael out with his government-related issues. After meeting Trevor, Franklin starts to see many arguments between the two rather than siding with one of them. Franklin tries to calm them down, hoping it won't escalate into something more violent and unnecessary. Franklin also notices Michael's personality and sometimes confronts him about it. If the player chooses to kill Michael, Franklin can be shown to deeply regret his decision, being unable to face his family or Trevor. If the player chooses to kill Trevor, they remain friends, although their friendship is greatly strained, and if they cross paths on the street, Michael will cut all ties with Franklin. If the player chooses the Deathwish ending, when Michael and Franklin are hanging out, they'll talk about how they can't believe they pulled off the Union Depository heist and that Franklin is extremely grateful to Michael for the experience. Also, in an email, Michael will tell Franklin that "he's a friend for life".
Lester Crest - Lester first met Michael at an unknown point in time, years before the events of the game, and seems to have been the mastermind behind many of his past robberies. The two ceased contact when Michael made his deal with Dave Norton to fake his death and start a new life, and Michael made sure never to mention Lester's name to anyone, allowing Lester to remain hidden from the authorities. Despite this, Michael considers that he was never much of a friend to Lester, and decides to make up for it when the two reunite during the events of the game. He can often be seen sticking up for Lester when he can't defend himself from much stronger people, such as Trevor. However, that won't stop Michael from bullying Lester if he criticizes the former for his hypocrisy.
Dave Norton - Years before the events of the game, Michael arranged a deal for him to hand over Trevor and Brad to the FIB by faking his death so that Dave would gain fame and respect for supposedly "killing" Michael during the North Yankton heist. After the event, Dave managed to keep his promise by having Michael and his family move to a luxurious mansion in Rockford Hills, Los Santos. Michael would also pay Dave hush money monthly to keep their business deal a secret. Their relationship was fine until Michael performed a heist at the Vangelico Jewelry Store. Michael would then perform several jobs for Dave and his boss, Steve Haines. Dave will admit that even though he was a bank robber, he always did "like" Michael. They would occasionally defend each other in hostile situations, like what was shown in the mission The Wrap Up, when he threatened Steve with a gun to prevent him from arresting Michael. In the "Deathwish" ending, Dave calls Michael and tells him that he replaced Haines in his TV show, and then thanks Michael for doing jobs for him before saying farewell, with the two parting on good terms. However, in the case that Michael aids Franklin in killing Trevor, Dave can no longer maintain ties with Michael as he is kept under strict surveillance and eventually dishonorably discharged by Haines.
Solomon Richards - Solomon and Michael are introduced to each other through Devin Weston. Michael is a big fan of the film producer and views him as his idol, even doubting at first that Devin could arrange their meeting. The two get along well. Solomon often recites a quote from one of his movies, and Michael easily names which one. He accepts Michael's assistance in the production of the film Meltdown and goes on to name him the associate producer. This offers more meaning and joy to Michael's life, and if he were to call Solomon after the mission Meltdown, he'll declare that working with the film producer was ultimately the best thing that could ever happen to him.
GTA Online Protagonist - The Online Protagonist is Michael's new neighbor as of 2025 and maintains a friendly relationship with him. The two first meet when Michael and Amanda drop by for a housewarming visit at the Protagonist's new mansion, during which Michael pulls the Protagonist aside and reveals that he knows of their exploits on account of their 'mutual friends'. Impressed by some of the Protagonist's achievements, Michael decides to stay in touch with them and even gives them advice about handling their association with Mr. Faber. Their friendship is later solidified when Michael comes to the Protagonist's aid after seeing their home under attack by KnoWay Mercenaries, which likely reminded Michael of the time he also experienced a home invasion. Michael saves the Protagonist during the assault and helps them defeat the mercenaries, after which the two celebrate their victory.
Enemies[]
Steve Haines - Michael meets Haines during a job to extract Ferdinand Kerimov (aka Mr. K) from the IAA headquarters. Haines forces him, Trevor, and Franklin into his operations and tortures Mr. K into retrieving information about assassinating an unspecified target. He also gets the protagonists to perform several heists for him. However, more and more suspicion from the Bureau falls on Haines, causing him to become extremely paranoid. He and Agent Sanchez confront Michael and Agent Norton as he attempts to have them framed and arrested for ruining his career. After an ambush by the IAA, Merryweather, and rival FIB forces, Haines attempts to have Michael killed, along with Trevor and Franklin. Fortunately, he decides to spare Michael and Franklin after some convincing from Norton, though he orders Franklin to kill Trevor for being a liability. In the "Deathwish" ending, if Franklin chooses Option C, Trevor kills Steve while he is shooting an episode of his show at Del Perro Pier. At the same time, Michael kills Stretch, an enemy of Franklin and Lamar Davis, at the BJ Smith Recreational Center. If Franklin kills Trevor, Haines will congratulate him and break all ties with him, obeying one final wish that Weston backs off from wanting Michael dead. Weston will do the same with Franklin about Haines wanting Trevor dead if he kills Michael.
Devin Weston - Michael meets Devin for the first time during a job for Steve Haines, and then again after the Blitz Play heist, when he drops off some documents at Devin's mansion. During this second meeting, Michael is annoyed by Devin's intentionally rude and condescending demeanor, though Devin offers him a deal to produce a film with Michael's idol, Solomon Richards. He also offers Michael, Trevor and Franklin a job stealing rare cars for him, only to refuse to pay them in the end. After Michael refuses to terminate his film's production and accidentally gets Devin's lawyer killed, Devin sends a platoon of Merryweather men to kill Michael's family. However, Michael manages to save his family, and he furiously tells Lester over the phone that he wants to devise a plan to murder Devin and get back at Merryweather, effectively starting a personal war between the two men. This incident leads Devin to later hire Franklin to murder Michael. If "Deathwish" is chosen, Michael happily accepts Franklin's offer to help him and Trevor. Trevor kills Devin's Merryweather guards, kidnaps Devin from his mansion, and shoves him inside the trunk of one of his cars. The three protagonists meet up to taunt a beaten and bloodied Devin for their victory before pushing him (with him inside the car trunk) off a cliff and into the ocean, killing him.
Special Ability[]
Michael's Special Ability is called "Area Kill". While active, Michael enters a bullet-time-like effect, allowing him to slow time and gain the advantage in shootouts. By enhancing this skill, you increase its maximum storage capacity, which directly affects its duration. Michael's Special Ability lasts 30 seconds when the Stat Bar for Special Abilities has been maxed out.
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- For the list of Michael De Santa's mission appearances, see Michael De Santa/Appearances.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- Prix Luxury introduction cutscene
- Home Sweet Home
Reception[]
Like Franklin and Trevor, Michael has received a very positive response from critics and fans of the series, as he was the first protagonist in the Grand Theft Auto series to have a family.
Dan Houser's Description of Michael[]
"Michael, to me, is... Who is he? I know who he is. I'm just trying to... He's the person who is trying to ignore some rather large mistakes that they have made. The person who's trying to forget about certain practical but still selfish decisions that they took. He's a man, also obsessed by images and by appearances, and who, when the world doesn't live up to those images and appearances, doesn't know what to do. He just retreats into his head. What he also is, when we started out... What he kind of evolved into as we began thinking about him and developing him... He was the first character we came up with. He began as the idea of what happens to a regular GTA protagonist after they retire? Then you think, what would make him retire? He's a man with a big ego and plenty of good values and plenty of bad values."
"A guy who's in his mid-40s and on the cusp of middle age who doesn't know what to do, but made a bunch of money and does not know what to do with it. He's theoretically won, but the spoils of victory aren't necessarily what he imagined. For us, that's a very interesting character, unlike what we've done in the past or what we've seen in much entertainment in general, let alone any video games. That was interesting."
Character Trailer[]
Quotes[]
- "Why did I move here? I guess it was the weather. Or the... Ah, I don't know, that thing. That magic." - Michael's quote from the Grand Theft Auto V trailer.
- "Fucking A!" - Michael's trademark quote. Said many times through the game.
- "He's a good kid? A good kid? Why? Does he help the fuckin' poor? No; he sits on his ass all day smokin' dope and jerkin' off while he plays that fucking game." - Michael on Jimmy De Santa.
- "A few weeks ago, I was happily retired, sulking by my swimming pool. And then, my psychotic best friend shows up out of nowhere, to torture me over mistakes I've made, honest mistakes I made over a decade ago!" - Michael venting anger about being stuck in Blaine County and in his old criminal lifestyle, thanks to Trevor.
- "You forget a thousand things every day. How 'bout you make sure this is one of them." - Michael's favorite movie quote.
- "Look, I made a judgment call. I don't know if it was the right one, I did what I thought I had to do. I had a young family, Franklin. I was running with a crew of crazy motherfuckers with nothing to lose. I saw an out. A future for me, for my family! I took it." - Michael explains to Franklin why he betrayed Trevor and Brad.
- "I've been in this game for a lot of years. I got out alive, that makes me the right age. You want my advice, you give this shit up." - Michael explains his situation to Franklin.
- "I always thought I was the good guy." - Michael telling Jimmy why he left the criminal lifestyle.
- "I want something that isn't this, you know? This caring about two things at once. I mean, I want to be a good dad, love my family... live the dream... but at the same time... I really want the other stuff, too." - Michael during his last therapy session.
- "I've done a lot of things that I ain't proud of, okay? I never claim to be an angel. But you meet Trevor, Franklin, you'll swear I am an angel." - Michael during the epilogue of Dead Man Walking.
- "How about you SUCK my cock?! HUH?!" - Michael's response to Amanda's insult in Reuniting the Family
- "Look, we do what we gotta do to survive. This thing... it didn't work out the way it was supposed to. Brad got shot, you saw it! He didn't make it. I got shot, I did, that's... that's it!" - Michael's excuse for Brad's death in Bury the Hatchet.
Gallery[]
Michael's Tailgater.
Michael's contact image.
Michael in the original version of Grand Theft Auto V.
Michael as he appears during normal gameplay in the enhanced version.
Character Wheel portrait.
Character Wheel portrait during the Prologue.
False ID used in the subtle approach of The Big Score.
Unused Hush Smush profile image.
Screenshots[]
Original Version[]
_Beige-Suit.GTAV.jpg "Michael(GTAV) Beige-Suit.GTAV.jpg (301 KB)")
-Sunbathing-GTAV.jpg "Michael(GTA V)-Sunbathing-GTAV.jpg (53 KB)")
Enhanced Version[]
Expanded & Enhanced Version[]
Artwork[]
Trivia[]
General[]
- Michael's appearance in the game may be based on Tom Sizemore's character Michael Cheritto in the 1995 film Heat, as both characters are professional bank robbers who enjoy the action, both are overweight, both bear an Italian surname, both have family and kids.
- A clear reference to the movie Heat is seen in the mission Blitz Play, where Michael, Trevor, and Franklin attempt to rob an armored truck by ramming into it with a large tow truck. In the movie, Sizemore's character and his crew attempt to steal the armored van under the same circumstances, but a crew member, "Waingro," on whom Trevor is based, messes it up by killing the security guards.
- The way Trevor discovers Michael's survival and whereabouts because of his repeated usage of his trademark quote "You forget a thousand things every day, make sure this is one of them" is similar to the way the police identify Cheritto, who likes to call everyone "Slick."
- Michael's special ability may have been inspired by the Bullet Time ability from Remedy Entertainment's Max Payne series and/or the Dead Eye Targeting ability from Rockstar San Diego's Red Dead series.
- There are a lot of similarities between Michael and Tony Soprano from the TV show, The Sopranos:
- Both Tony and Michael smoke cigars.
- They both go to a shrink, even though none believes in therapy.
- Both of them have two children, a boy and a girl, with whom they have a lot of fights, especially about their job: Tony being a mob boss and Michael being a robber.
- Both of them have trouble with their wives and shaky relationships. However, Tony's wife Carmela doesn't officially cheat on him, whereas Amanda cheats on Michael.
- They both live in a big house with a pool.
- Their language and way of speaking are similar.
- Michael occasionally exclaims "oh!" in a similar manner to Tony and many characters from the show.
- Both of them are huge movie fans, and they both prefer classic movies of Hollywood (GTA world, Vinewood), to "new age" movies.
- Both are known for their similar hypocrisy.
- Both ran criminal operations out of a strip club (Vanilla Unicorn for Michael, Bada Bing! for Tony).
- Both played football during their childhood.
- Michael also shares many similarities with Max Payne from the Max Payne franchise:
- Both have/had a wife and child(ren).
- Both have a drinking problem.
- Both men have similar physical appearances.
- Both are around the same age if Michael was born in 1965.
- Both have very similar abilities.
- Both are/were fugitives of the law.
- Both were used in scandals.
- Both can share the same hairstyles and clothing.
- Michael's false surname "De Santa" is similar to Vincente de Santa's real surname from Rockstar San Diego's Red Dead series. However, these characters and games are not related.
- Michael Townley is a real person under federal witness protection. He was a former CIA operative who was involved in the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier, a Chilean ambassador.
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- In the Rush Casting Call from 2010, Michael was called Albert De Silva.
- Michael was the first protagonist that came to Rockstar's mind when they began the development of Grand Theft Auto V.
- His favorite radio stations are Los Santos Rock Radio, Vinewood Boulevard Radio, and Radio Mirror Park. He also seems to have a taste for funk, as the radio inside his mansion is tuned to The Lowdown 91.1, and he will bob his head in appreciation to both it and Space 103.2 while in a vehicle. Additionally, he will listen to Rebel Radio between Did Somebody Say Yoga? and Monkey Business.
- Furthermore, he calls Trevor's music taste "weird" in Paleto Score Setup, suggesting he may not be fond of Channel X, Trevor's favourite.
- After firing a pistol and starting to run or walk, Michael will be holding it in both hands, unlike Franklin and Trevor.
- Michael's great shooting accuracy makes him one of the most challenging opponents while playing darts.
- The quote that Michael uses in Prologue and The Jewel Store Job, "You forget a thousand things every day, make sure this is one of them.", is from the Solomon Richards movie Arthur Penny's Sanitorium, although slightly modified. The original line is "We forget a thousand things every day, can't we just make this one of them?".
- Throughout the game, Michael displays a contempt for yoga instructors. Coincidentally, his voice and motion capture performer, Ned Luke, is married to a yoga instructor.
- Opposite to Trevor, who hates Los Santos, Michael declares many times that he hates the Grand Senora Desert and implies in Monkey Business that he wants to never return there.
- It is possible that Michael dreamed of becoming a cop growing up, as suggested by Trevor in I Fought the Law....
- Michael was called "snowbird" by Devin Weston and Gianni. "Snowbird" means someone from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, Pacific Northwest, or Canada who spends a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern and southwest United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean. The way that snowbird was used by Devin and Gianni towards Michael was a reference to how he moved to Los Santos from Ludendorff.
- Michael may be of Irish descent, as a number of his possible tattoos are Irish-themed, he has green eyes, and his favorite drink is whisky, all of these being common Irish traits.
- Upon returning to his house, one possible line of dialogue for Michael to shout is "Daddy's back, bitches!", which is a reference to the first line of dialogue in Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Michael has unique, terrified reactions when he hits a family member with a car.
- If Michael accesses the in-game website PsychicShoutout and speaks with Ms. Tammy, she will reveal that Amanda has already had sex with the yoga instructor (Fabien LaRouche), the tennis coach (Kyle Chavis) and also a fireman, a plumber, a beach lifeguard, a truck driver, a dustman, a gardener, as well as a hipster. Michael angrily replies that they have an open relationship. This is later backed up by Tracey De Santa in the mission Reuniting the Family when Michael drives himself, Tracey, and Jimmy De Santa to Dr. Friedlander's office.
- When walking, Michael is slightly slower than Franklin or Trevor; this might be due to him being retired and not as active as he used to be. Ned Luke even put on 25 pounds to replicate this.
- When someone talks to Michael on his right side, he shifts his body toward that person. This is because in real life, Ned Luke is deaf in his right ear.
- A person comments under the synopsis of Rum Runner on the Classic Vinewood in-game website, under the pseudonym 'michaelds', saying "I wanted to be Eddie Olson when I was a kid. Just without the handicap fetish.". "michaelds" is most likely a pseudonym for Michael De Santa.
- There is a second comment from 'michaelds' under the synopsis of The Many Wives of Alfredo Smith. In this one, he comments, "This is how movies should be. A plot so tangled that you still don't know what's going on even after watching it five times. Not the dumbed down sickly sweet trash Vinewood pumps out these days.".
- After Friedlander's optional death in Abandonment Issues (non-canon), it is stated on the radio that Michael's name was "Marky De Santos," a fake name made by Friedlander. Ahron Ward and the police dispatcher also call Michael "Mr. De Santo" and "Michael De Santo" respectively.
- On the Overview page on the Social Club, Michael's business card strangely says "Michael Townley" instead of "Michael De Santa". It also says "entrepreneur" just like Franklin's.
- Michael sleeps for the shortest time of the three protagonists. When saving the game with Michael, the game skips ahead six hours. Franklin sleeps for eight hours, while Trevor sleeps for twelve. While he lives alone after his family moves out, one of his switch scenes shows him waking up screaming and pointing a gun around. He may suffer from nightmares, which could explain his short sleeping time compared to Trevor and Franklin.
- According to a phone call with Friedlander, Michael tried taking behavior medication before the events of the game, but stopped because the dosage was incorrect, causing him to "cry and piss all over himself".
- While wearing the Epsilon Robes, other characters, such as Bob Mulét and other barbers, may say Kifflom to him in greeting.
- Michael, unlike Trevor, dislikes killing people for no reason. He mentions this in a number of missions, including not killing the tennis coach or Lazlow. He only kills people when he feels like he has to, such as killing Stretch for betraying Franklin and Lamar or as an act of self-defense.
References[]
|